By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Ryan Fleck
Starring: Anthony Mackie | Ryan Gosling | Shareeka Epps
Country: united_states
Year: 2006
Running time: 106
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375233/
Chris says: “Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling), a young, white history teacher and girls’ basketball coach in a mostly black Brooklyn middle school would seem like the ideal mentor. Eschewing the required curriculum, he genuinely inspires his students to think about and apply historical events to their own lives. Lest you think this is going to be another DANGEROUS MINDS, however, it’s not long before we find out that Dan is also a drug addict. He tries to keep these two worlds separate, but isn’t always successful—before long, one of his students, tough, stone-faced Drey (Shareeka Epps), walks in on him getting high in the girl’s locker room after a game. Drey doesn’t rat Dan out, but she does tenuously forge a friendship with him.
“The film’s crafty title refers to a wrestling move that consists of an opposing, interlocking force between two players that’s nearly impossible to break out of. We easily see that metaphor present in Dan’s struggle to isolate (and compromise) his professional and private lives; it also applies to Drey. With her father’s absence unexplained, her mother working double shifts as an EMT, and her older brother incarcerated for dealing drugs, she drifts between Dan and her brother’s friend Frank (Anthony Mackie). He’s a fellow dealer who reaches out to her as a father figure, but like Dan, he’s not an entirely appropriate one for her.
“After writing this film’s screenplay, director Ryan Fleck and his producer/co-writer Anna Boden adapted it into an exceptional short film called GOWANUS, BROOKLYN which I saw at the Independent Film Festival of Boston in 2004. Focusing primarily on Drey rather than Dan (Epps was in it but Gosling had yet to be cast), it was refreshing to see a filmmaker taking a cue from the minimalism/realism of Jim McKay’s wonderful OUR SONG, and it left me with high hopes for a feature-length version.
“Fortunately, HALF NELSON doesn’t disappoint. With his brave, intricate, award-worthy performance, Gosling proves himself the ideal match for this material and newcomer Epps is a real discovery: both are so assured, yet so natural to the point of disappearing into their roles that they each seem startlingly real and make a challenging premise plausible. Mackie is also impressive; he gives depth to what in a lesser film would be just the rote part of the charming drug dealer. Tina Holmes (best known as Maggie from SIX FEET UNDER) is also good in a small role as an’s ex-junkie ex-girlfriend.
“Fleck has noted that the screenplay was born out of a frustration with the malaise hanging over America following Bush, 9/11 and the Iraq War. It’s referenced explicitly just once and subtly numerous times (particularly in a superb late scene where Dan visits his suburban family that’s absolutely heartbreaking for being so restrained yet dead-on), but this bleak, intelligent character study is not really about placing the blame for this malaise on anyone. For Dan and Drey, possible redemption and mere survival comes down to the strength and balance a friendship can provide. That the film carefully reaches this hopeful conclusion without ever seeming bogus or lapsing into cheap sentiment is what truly inspires. 5 cats”
Michael says: “During a recent visit to Salt Lake City, we had the good fortune of finding a Landmark Theatre down the street from our hotel. With little else to do for entertainment, we decided to catch up on HALF NELSON. This much acclaimed film has been on my list of films to see since it’s area premiere at the Independent Film Festival of Boston a couple of years ago, where it received strong positive notice from other Chlotrudis members. Well, I just hate to be a curmudgeon, and perhaps it was the high expectations, but HALF NELSON was a bit of a disappointment for me. No, that makes it sound like I didn’t enjoy the film, which is not the case. It was an assured, debut feature narrative for director Ryan Fleck, with a screenplay that avoids most clichés and actors who give powerful, understated performances, two elements that are exceedingly important in a films like this.
“Dan Dunne is a young teacher of Junior High School in an inner city Brooklyn public school, whose idealism is nicely balanced by his realism. He also happens to be a drug addict who is skating a slippery edge into dysfunction. When his secret is discovered by one of his students, Drey, a bond is formed between the two that informs the remainder of the film. Stoic, Drey is a fascinating character with an absent father, a mother who is never home because of her job as an EMT, a brother who has been arrested for dealing drugs, and two not superficially appropriate mentors; Frank, a drug dealer for whom Drey’s brother worked, and her teacher Dan. As I said before, Fleck manages to avoid most of the pitfalls that could abound in a tale like this, but there is something… too earnest perhaps? that distracted me from sinking into the film.
“HALF NELSON was based on Fleck’s short film GOWANUS BROOKLYN, which also received raves from Chlotrudis members. Gosling had yet to be cast during the shooting of GOWANUS; consequently, that film focused much more on Drey. That makes me wish I had seen the short film, as for me, Dan Dunne was the weakest character. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but I had little interest or sympathy toward the drug-addicted teacher. A scene where he goes home to his family late in the film, while not as heavy-handed as a Hollywood production would have made it, was still a bit broad. I would have rather seen more what was going on in Drey’s head, and how she felt in her situation.
“Ryan Gosling has received a lot of praise for his portrayal of Dan, but his flat, nearly monotone performance couldn’t pull me into the character. Receiving almost as much attention was the praise of newcomer Shareeka Epps who tackles the complicated Drey. Epps stone-faced performance is powerful and effective, especially as she begins to head down a path we want her to avoid. Anthony Mackie does a good job with Frank, a character who could have easily been a stereotypical one. 3 cats”